Felice Brothers Favorite Waitress

It’s been three years since the last studio album from The Felice Brothers. “We just wanted to make sure that no one would ever mistake us for a folk band ever again,” jokes James Felice when discussing Celebration, Florida, the group’s dark, twisted synth-heavy 2011 record.

Favorite Waitress, due June 17th, will be a more recognizable return to basics for long-time fans of the upstate New York group. The album was recorded in the winter of 2013 at Mike Mogis and Conor Oberst’s Arc Studios in Omaha, Nebraska.

Favorite Waitress marks the first time the Felice Brothers have recorded in a proper studio outside of their native Hudson Valley, but James Felice says that more than any other record the band has released to date, the group’s debut with record label Dualtone resembles the group’s live sound.

“We realized that we could have these interesting sonic motifs and have weird sounding songs,” says Felice of their last record, “but on Favorite Waitress we really wanted to make sure that we could perform them live. More than anything we’ve ever done, our new record has been the product of the Felice Brothers as a live touring band.”

True to the band’s free-flowing live show, Favorite Waitress features plenty of shared sing-alongs and feel-good harmony, with band members James Felice and Christmas Clapton contributing several songs in addition to primary songwriter Ian Felice. “There’s more collaboration on this album than anything we’ve ever done,” says James Felice. “We’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s sort of weird to think about, but we’re pros now.”

-American Songwriter

1. Bird On Broken Wing
2. Cherry Licorice
3. Meadow Of A Dream
4. Lion
5. Saturday Night
6. Constituents
7. Hawthorne
8. Katie Cruel
9. No Trouble
10. Alien
11. Chinatown
12. Woman Next Door
13. Silver In The Shadow